Pitti Uomo keeps costs down and proves to be a showcase for almost 800 brands

'I am convinced that men's fashion has the ability to emerge from this difficult moment'. Antonio de Matteis, president of the Pitti Immagine trade fair company and managing director of the Kiton sartorial clothing group, spreads confidence at the Milan presentation of the 107th edition of the Pitti Uomo trade fair (in Florence from 14 to 17 January 2025 with 790 brands, 46% of which are foreign), the most important men's fashion fair in the world, even more so after the French clothing and accessories show Tranoï Homme and the German Premium Berlin fair closed their doors. "We are in a transitional phase," added the Pitti president, "a phase in which the production chain needs support, but it is the first time that a government recognises the value of fashion even though, of course, we can always do better. The Kiton Group, de Matteis added, grew by 14% in the first nine months of the year.

Even the data released by Pitti Immagine on the performance of the Italian men's fashion industry in the first seven months of 2024 (source: Sistema Moda Italia based on Istat data) does not yet fully show the slowdown affecting many Italian companies in the sector due to the time lag between orders and sales. Exports for the period show a progressive slowdown but grew by 2.7% (to Euro 5.5 billion), while imports fell by 10% (to Euro 3.6 billion), improving the trade balance.

Outlet countries include France (+11%, the top destination for Italian menswear), the United States (+3.4%) and, above all, China (+37% to Euro 445 million in the seven months), which climbs to fourth position, bucking the trend that sees the Chinese market focused on the purchase of local production. Germany, on the other hand, fell (-3.5%), a strategic market for Italian men's fashion.

"2024 promises to be a year of suffering for fashion in general," reads the Smi economic note, "in a context of great uncertainties, the greatest fears are linked to the lower propensity of consumers to buy, sharp increases in costs, the slowdown of important economies, as well as geopolitical tensions due to ongoing conflicts and key political elections such as those in Europe last June and the most recent American elections.

On the exhibitor front, Managing Director Raffaello Napoleone explained that the event continues to receive more applications than it can accommodate, and continues to make a strong selection of admitted brands. On the other hand, he is committed to containing the increase in costs: "We cost a third of what other trade fairs in the sector cost, we have reduced our management costs, and our objective is not to make exhibiting companies lose business opportunities," said Napoleone. The real challenge of the next Pitti Uomo will be to bring qualified buyers to Florence: "In the Pitti fairs of 2025 we will bring about 500 operators including buyers, journalists and influencers," stressed Matteo Zoppas, president of the Ice Agency.